Boulder County and the city of Boulder opened a joint disaster assistance center in Boulder at 5495 Arapahoe Ave. on Thursday for those impacted by last week's historic flooding.

The disaster assistance center is the second in the county after a similar facility opened in the Twin Peaks Mall, 1250 South Hover Road, in Longmont on Wednesday.

Organizations providing information and assistance at the center include the Red Cross, Salvation Army, the Emergency Family Assistance Association, A Precious Child, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Colorado Department of Labor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The center will remain open until "need subsides," officials say, with hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. City and county officials are asking the public to bring identification, utility bills, insurance paperwork and other documents that might help determine what assistance they qualify for.

The Boulder Office of Emergency Management said Wednesday night that at least 397 homes were damaged and 340 destroyed by the Boulder County floodwaters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman William Rukeyser said that of the 10,190 households statewide that have applied for FEMA assistance, 7,685 are in Boulder County. FEMA so far has given out $4.3 million in assistance.

Jim Williams helped represent the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services at the assistance center Thursday.

"We have vouchers for bus passes and cab rides, so transportation-related things, and longer-term housing opportunities," Williams said. "We also have food assistance, financial assistance. All the things that people are needing right now."

Leslie Gallup stopped by the Red Cross truck parked outside the center for cleaning supplies, trash bags and a rake to start cleaning her east Boulder home. She and her husband work from home, so they plan to apply for a loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration. FEMA stopped by her house on Wednesday, she said.

Gallup's basement was flooded with 20 inches of water, which ruined her furnace and hot water heater, she said.

Will Vandenberge waits with his daughter, Mia, 4, outside the disaster center on Thursday. The City of Boulder and Boulder County have opened a joint Disaster Assistance Center on Thursday, Sept. 19, at 5495 Arapahoe Ave. in Boulder. This center, along with the Disaster Assistance Center in Longmont, is available all to Boulder County residents impacted by the flood.
Cliff Grassmick / September 19, 2013 (CLIFF GRASSMICK)

"We've had a lot of friends help us out," she said. "Neighbors. Whenever anybody helps us I start crying."

James and Susan Ragstale, who live most of the year in San Diego but also own a home in Boulder, went to the assistance center just after it opened at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The Ragstales' finished basement at Foothills Parkway and Valmont Road was completely ruined by floodwaters, though they don't know yet how much restoring the basement will cost them.

"We're doing the right things, but it's going to take a month or so before we're able to put stuff down there," James Ragstale said.

They weren't able to get any assistance from FEMA, they said, but might be able to receive a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. They weren't too surprised about not receiving assistance from FEMA, the Ragstales said.

"We're the lucky ones," Susan Ragstale said. "We have another home to go to."

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